The Correct Serving Sizes for Healthy Children

By Beth-Ann Bentley

When we discuss serving sizes for children, we mean children ages 2-14. For these children, an adult-size serving can be too much. You should serve a child about one-fourth to one-third of an adult-sized portion –or, on average 1 tablespoon for each year of the child’s age. So an 8-year-old child would have a serving of 8 tablespoons, or approximately 1/2 cup of food. This is a serving size, not a complete meal; for example, a serving of pasta would be 1/2 cup.

So lunch for an 8-year-old might look like this:

·        1/2 cup of whole grain pasta mixed with 1/4 cup of chopped broccoli, 1/4 cup of chopped cooked chicken, 1/4 cup of low-fat mozzarella cheese cut into cubes and all tossed with a spinach-basil pesto, served with a small multigrain dinner roll or a few multigrain crackers.

·        Dessert is a 1/2 cup pineapple or mango cubes.

You have 2 servings of grains, 1 serving of vegetables, 2 servings of meat, 1 serving of dairy, and 1 fruit serving. Your child also gets a little extra nutrition from the spinach-basil pesto along with a serving of healthy oils. This will get your child through the most grueling afternoon of schoolwork, recess and gym class.

To start children on lifelong healthy eating habits, experts recommend serving your child a little less and let him ask for seconds. This encourages your child to eat only when he is hungry and not just because food is in front of him. Face it: even too much healthy food can cause obesity.

So what exactly does 3 ounces of meat look like? Or an ounce of cheese? A cup of pasta? Use these guidelines to help you plan a healthy meal plan for your child:

·       One cup of food (8oz or 16 tbls.) looks like the size of a softball.

·       3 oz of meat is the same size as a deck of cards.

·      1 oz of cheese is the same size as two dice or one slice of deli cheese.

·       1 Tbsp. is approximately the same size as your thumb.

• 1 Tsp. is approximately the same size as your pinky.

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About the author: Beth Ann Bentley is the founder and president of iLunchBox.com, an online media company dedicated to the pursuit of a healthy lunch for school-aged children. She also sits on the Board of Directors of Valley Children’s Museum and on the Advisory Education Board of SAGE (Sustainable Agriculture and Education), and she is an enthusiastic volunteer at her children’s school focusing her attention on the Outdoor Classroom and School Garden. Beth Ann has four wonderful school-aged children and is currently finishing her certification as a nutrition educator from Bauman College in Berkeley, Calif.

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